Whö Is Brüno?

The Libération Web site links today to a (http://www.liberation.fr/brut-de-net/06011132-qui-est-le-vrai-bruno) (in German) from Stern magazine, which raises the question of whether the real-life model for Sacha Baron Cohen’s character Brüno might be the umlaut-rich designer Harald Glööckler, who’s known for a line of clothing called Pompöös. The video (only the first two minutes of which are relevant) suggests some overlaps between Baron Cohen’s character and the designer’s own shtick (or Stück). Here’s a German Amazon listing for a book about Glööckler; here’s a fansite for “Germany’s most eccentric fashion designer.” What do you think?

Under the southern portion of the city exists its negative image: a network of more than two hundred miles of galleries, rooms, and chambers.

As the years passed, Tom grew more entrenched in his homelessness. He was absorbed in lofty fantasies and private missions, aware of the basest necessities and the most transcendent abstractions, and almost nothing in between.